n the Bone Zone, a desolate land just five to six minutes' walk north of Zhao Lun's cave...
Zhao Lun lay quietly on the ground, his eye flames now reduced to a dim, faint glow. He was completely still, suggesting that the poor guy had been asleep for a long time.
It was almost ironic. This unlucky fellow had worked hard to get within a few minutes' walk of his cave, so close to safety, only to accidentally step into a shallow pit, tumble headfirst, and, overwhelmed by fatigue, fall asleep for four or five hours.
Fortunately, the area had just been ravaged by the "great wind" disaster, clearing out most of the skeletons. Otherwise, Zhao Lun would have been an easy target for any passing skeletons during his vulnerable sleep. But even though the storm had temporarily kept him safe for five or six hours, his life would still be at risk if he didn't wake up soon.
As time passed, thirty more minutes went by, and Zhao Lun remained in his slumber. His safety was now beginning to be threatened.
About thirty meters away, a skeleton frame slowly started to materialize. This was one of the ways a skeleton could be born in the underworld.
Sadly, Zhao Lun, still in a deep sleep, couldn't witness the process of the skeleton's birth. What's worse, if he didn't wake up soon, his life would likely be over before he could level up.
Three minutes later, the skeleton frame fully materialized and solidified into a level 0 skeleton—the most basic and weakest of beings in the underworld.
This particular skeleton was born with a ragged, worn-out bone bow. This made its identity clear— it was a skeleton archer.
The skeleton archer was no ordinary being. Unlike the level 0 skeleton mages, which were the weakest of all creatures in the Bone Zone, the skeleton archer was a force to be reckoned with. A level 0 skeleton archer could easily wipe out other skeletons of the same level. Even a slow-moving level 1 giant axe skeleton would have no chance against one. The skeleton archer's strength stemmed from its excellent vision and impeccable archery skills.
Zhao Lun had never encountered a skeleton archer before, let alone witnessed its skills. But the archer's sharp eyesight was immediately apparent, and it soon became clear to Zhao Lun—if only he were awake to witness it.
The sharp-eyed skeleton archer, freshly born, immediately spotted Zhao Lun lying motionless on the ground. Driven by its instinct for murder, it made a swift decision and, without hesitation, loosed an arrow at Zhao Lun.
The shot was so fast it seemed like lightning. Even if Zhao Lun had been awake, he would have had no chance to dodge it. The arrow whizzed through the air and, with a sharp thud, it embedded itself in Zhao Lun's skull—one strike, one kill.
However, upon seeing that its target had been hit, the skeleton archer didn't fire again. Instead, it crouched down and, with a series of clicks, grabbed Zhao Lun's skeletal frame, flipping him over to retrieve his soul flame.
"Hey, how's it going?"
Just as the skeleton archer began to turn Zhao Lun over, Zhao Lun's eye flames suddenly flared to life.
Before the skeleton archer could react, Zhao Lun's staff was already thrust into its eye socket, shattering its soul flame with a forceful strike.
"Sorry, you're just too ugly, I couldn't help it!"
Zhao Lun shoved the skeleton archer's skeletal frame aside and, after a brief moment of mockery, spat on the corpse. He then sat up, struggling with all his might to pull the bone arrow out of his skull.
Zhao Lun was lucky. The arrow from the skeleton archer wasn't as powerful as it could have been. Although it had pierced his skull, it miraculously hadn't hit his soul flame. In a strange twist of fate, the sudden danger had been just enough to wake Zhao Lun from his deep sleep.
Having narrowly escaped death, Zhao Lun didn't linger. He grabbed his staff and quickly made his way back to his cave. Even the fragments of the skeleton archer's soul flame were left behind—he still had unabsorbed fragments in his own soul flame, and he wasn't about to risk any more trouble.
This time, Zhao Lun returned without further incident. It took him only a few minutes to reach his cave.
"Finally back. That was tough. I can relax now. I felt better than ever since earlier, and it seems like there's something new in my memory. Now, I can take a proper look."
Once inside the cave, Zhao Lun finally allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. Now that he was safe, he had time to inspect his soul flame. He sat down, following the instincts left by the skeletal mage, and immersed his mind into his soul flame.
"Hmm, I'm already a level 1 skeletal mage. My mana has doubled, and now I can use Blindness up to twelve times. That's much better than before. And there are still some soul fragments left in my flame. If I absorb all of them, my mana will probably double again. Wait, what's this?"
Zhao Lun's mind shifted, and he sank deeper into his soul flame, searching for the new memory that had emerged.
It didn't take long before he found it. With a sudden boom, a mysterious magical array appeared in his soul, and along with it came an unfamiliar incantation.
Strangely, Zhao Lun had never seen the symbols in the spell, yet he instinctively recognized them and knew exactly how to chant the words— as though he had always known how.
But Zhao Lun wasn't paying much attention to the details at the moment. His entire focus was on this newly awakened spell, which captivated him entirely.
Since it was a natural talent spell, Zhao Lun had already mastered it the moment he saw it, fully understanding its fundamentals.
Servant
Level 1 Necromancy
Steal one-fifth of the soul flame essence from a same-level or lower undead to gain control over it.
Note: Ineffective on undead above level 5.
Zhao Lun quickly processed the spell's functions. Thanks to his exceptional talent as a skeletal mage, he could tell that the spell would require a significant amount of mana. At full strength, he could cast it twice at most.
"Well, it's not exactly the offensive magic I was hoping for, and it drains a lot of mana. But compared to purely supportive spells, it's pretty good. Now, I just need to..."
Zhao Lun's words trailed off as his eyes locked onto the skeletal frame of the giant axe skeleton.
Something's wrong.
The giant axe skeleton's frame appeared as if it had been struck in the chest by something heavy, causing it to shatter into pieces. Zhao Lun immediately grew alert.